I mean, if it's that powerful, and we are truly seeing that far into the universe, then why do we have such awful views of things in our own solar system? I feel as though we are being duped. It seems to me that either the Hubble pics are fakes, or they are purposely showing bad images of things in our own backyard.
2007-03-21 09:21:54 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Two Reasons:
1) Because the hubble wasn't designed to provide great pictures of something as close as Pluto. Telescopes are optical instruments and must be brought into focus. The focal range of the Hubble simply doesn't include Pluto. The Hubble was designed to see thing 450 light years away, not something less than 1, that's what satellites are for.
2) Pluto is MOVING. Even if it could focus on things near by, The Hubble can't keep up with the motion of Pluto long enough to get a clear picture. Objects 450 lightyears away are practically stationary with regards to the Hubble, so it can keep up with their movements.
2007-03-21 09:32:41 · answer #1 · answered by Bigfoot 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Hubble is great at photographing things that generate their own light. Pluto can only reflect sunlight. At its tiny size and low reflectivity, it's extremely dim.
And it takes a long time to get enough light to form an image. Between the Earth orbit of the HST and the rotation of Pluto, numerous precisely realigned images have to be taken to get enough light for a recognizable image. Hubble is trying to do something for which it wasn't designed, like using a telescope to read the TV Guide.
2007-03-21 11:37:59 · answer #2 · answered by skepsis 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pluto is really far away...but still in out local area. The hubble telescope was designed for the purpose of looking deep into Extra-solar space. It's not so great at seeing things as clear in our own neck of the woods. In optical terms, it would be considered far-sighted. While we can see some planets and objects in our system with hubble, pluto's surface is very poor at reflecting light.
2007-03-21 09:38:14 · answer #3 · answered by xooxcable 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This might be because Pluto does not produce light on its own, It can only reflect light. It gets very little sunlight so reflected light is very minimal. Whereas the far off galaxies and stars emit there own light. The performance of a telescope hugely depends on the amount of light it receives. Pluto reflects very less light hence we don't get good images of it. The galaxies 450 million light years away give out more light as compared to the light reflected from Pluto. Pluto already receives such a small amount of light so it reflects a very small part of it.
2007-03-21 18:40:16 · answer #4 · answered by mridul 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The pictures are real.
There are no good pic's of Pluto (which I believe will ALWAYS be a PLANET) because the spacecraft was not close enough to orbit the planet. While Jupiter and Saturn were right in the path of Hubble.
In fact, the Hubble got some great photos of Neptune and Uranus by accident- wasn't even supposed to make it that far. Unfortunately poor Pluto was millions of miles out of Hubble's orbit and thus no great close up shots!
With the lastest probe (exclusivley headed for pluto) we should have pictures around 2026. Or so I hear.
2007-03-21 09:31:03 · answer #5 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Hubble has made decent photos of the surface of Pluto.
Gosh there is a bit of misinformation here. Hubble orbits the earth. Low earth orbit. It has never travelled out to Jupiter or Saturn.
Also, it isn't like Pluto's relative velocity is that much greater than that of Jupiter. Even if they had to adjust for tracking, and objects out that far move pretty slow.
2007-03-21 09:32:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Hubble is the greatest scam perpetrated on the American people since the Kennedy assassination. All the pictures are fake, all the bull about a bad mirror is fake. The truth is that the Hubble points down towards the earth and watches us. That's what it's for. That's how it's used.
2007-03-21 09:26:42 · answer #7 · answered by Tim 2 · 0⤊ 6⤋
Oh sure, were being duped; it's another vast right-wing conspiracy (Democrats, no doubt).
2007-03-22 19:44:36 · answer #8 · answered by stargazergurl22 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dunno maybe the people dont care because they are racist against planetoids and dwarf planets.
they will all burn in hell
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i like the word kelloggs cause in the center it says ello like a british saying. Ello guv'nar
2007-03-21 15:45:22 · answer #9 · answered by huhwhatcaca 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋